Almost the entirety of my teen years occurred in the 1970s. And when I say "almost the entirety," I'm acknowledging the first sixteen days of 1980, during which time I was still technically a teen (just like the first sixteen days of 1960, when I was still technically unborn).
The overriding pop culture passions of my '70s teen years have remained with me. I still love superhero comic books. I still love pulp paperback storytelling. And, of course, I still love pop music, especially pop music in the form of rock 'n' roll. For the first part of the '70s, the love of rockin' pop music was mostly served by AM Top 40 radio. That experience is with me every day of my life, and it is a large, large part of what makes This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio tick.
Dave Cope's new album AM Silver is a love letter to the classic sounds that made amplitude-modulation we-play-the-hits radio so essential and so irresistible in the '60s and '70s. But it's not a covers album; Cope accomplishes his tribute by crafting original tunes that channel the sheer rush of keeping one's young ears affixed to the ol' transistor when Badfinger or the Honey Cone played. On AM Silver, Dave Cope nails his delighted evocation of that experience. Released digitally in 2025 and due on CD shortly from our friends at Kool Kat Musik, AM Silver stands as affirmation of a golden era that will always mean the world to me.
And every week, Dana and I also try to exult in affirmation of that era. What if AM Top 40 had played the Ramones? What if time frames didn't matter, and AM Top 40 could pummel the airwaves with great stuff from today AND great stuff from the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, 2000s, and 2010s? Come to think of it, WOLF-AM introduced me to Chuck Berry in the early '70s, thinking nothing of programming "Johnny B. Goode" fifteen years after its release, nestled comfortably amidst the sounds of '73.
That's a lesson we apply on this show. Great music doesn't care what year it is. Rock 'n' roll radio plays the hits, and it plays the stuff that should be a hit. In that spirit, let's hit the road with Dave Cope. And this is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.
You can read all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO). You can follow Carl's daily blog at Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do).
TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS are always welcome.
Carl's new book Guitars Vs. Rayguns!! Short Stories And Other White Lies is available! Read about it here, and about its truncated six-chapter sampler A Band Called GUITARS VS. RAYGUNS! here. Autographed copies of Carl's previous book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) are available here, and you can still get Carl's previous previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
The many fine This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio compilation albums are still available, each full of that rockin' pop sound you crave. A portion of all sales benefit our perpetually cash-strapped community radio project:
Volume 1: download
Volume 2: CD or download
Volume 3: download
Volume 4: CD or download
Waterloo Sunset--Benefit For This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio: CD or download
Volume 5: CD or download
TIRnRR FRESH SPINS! Songs we think we ain’t played before are listed in bold
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